Yan Duan, now in possession of all his memories from his previous life, was no longer that pampered young master. He summoned Mr. Xu, the trusted advisor skilled in interrogation from his father’s side, and spoke frankly. “Mister, please deal with these so-called talents on the spot. They take advantage of my youth, thinking me soft-hearted, and believed that even if they poisoned me, nothing would come of it if I caught them.”
Mr. Xu smiled knowingly and cupped his hands in acknowledgment.
Among the group, Yan Jun’s "acquaintance" from his past life was the first to end up a bloody mess under the advisor’s hand. The spies sent by the Guo family, initially full of confidence, were soon left shivering in terror, and the whole process took no more than a quarter of an hour.
Just as he had suspected, if that “acquaintance” of his were truly the unyielding type, he wouldn't have chosen to throw in his lot with Yan Duan in the previous life.
So he personally heard the story of how Guo Sida had given orders to these spies: first, gain the trust of the eldest miss, persuade her to drug and restrain him, and then use him to get rid of his father and brother…
Yan Duan was completely unmoved. He could even drink his tea calmly amid the stench of blood in the air, and laughed instead of getting angry after hearing the testimony. “So this is how little they think of me.”
Mr. Xu was quite straightforward. “Young Master, you turned crisis into blessing this time, and master saw it all.”
Yan Duan rose to his feet, solemnly bowing to Mr. Xu, not allowing the man any chance to dodge. “Mister, please teach me—so my soft-heartedness is plainly known to all?”
Mr. Xu nodded with some reluctance.
Yan Duan gave a rueful laugh and said nothing more.
Mr. Xu sincerely offered a word of advice. “Young Master is still young.”
Yan Duan thanked him, then continued watching as Mr. Xu and his men handled the spies from the Guo family. His “acquaintance” broke down first, and the remaining spies could not hold out for long either, giving up everything they knew after suffering only minor hardship.
Mr. Xu organized their confessions, binding together a thick stack of written statements and handed them over.
Yan Duan took them, leafed through once, thanked him again, and ordered his personal attendant to tidy up. He tucked the statements into his robe and went to report to his father.
Standing outside his father’s study, he overheard his father’s indifferent command from inside, “Bury them.” When he entered, he saw his eldest brother sitting next to their father, grinning cheerfully.
A pang shot through him. His memory of his eldest brother from his past life was already faint—did his brother ever smile so brightly before? He handed the statements to his father, and was again consumed by deep self-blame.
Yan Jun studied his younger brother for a moment. He did seem different now. “Why so downcast? Father said you’re ‘like new-born.’ I suppose whatever you remembered wasn’t pleasant.”
Yan Duan didn’t respond directly, but asked in return, “Big brother, why are you so happy?”
Yan Jun saw no reason to hide anything. “Yesterday, father sent men to capture the spies Guo family had planted outside the city. They didn’t get them all, but we did catch Lady Li and her favorite cousin red-handed. Father left the pair to me—two pitiable lovers—and I just granted them their wish, letting them die together.”
Yan Duan nodded. “In my past life, Lady Li disappeared after chaos broke out in the city. If left to her own devices, I reckon she’d have chosen as clean an end as this.”
His words piqued Yan Jun’s interest. “Then let me ask you this—how did I die in the past?”
“Died of illness. Emperor Yongning wanted to eliminate all threats, so he instructed a few Imperial Physicians…”
Yan Jun did not get angry, or at least, would never vent at his brother in front of their father. “About what I expected. Emperor Yongning would definitely do such a thing.”
He thought to himself: even with this new lease on life, his brother couldn’t threaten his position—after all, in his past life, his brother chose ‘to repay enmity with kindness.’
There was no open rivalry between the brothers. Qin Jingzhou looked on with satisfaction, setting the testimonies aside and instructing Yan Duan, “Go and rest up for a few days. Come back once you’ve recovered, then take who you need and sweep the area inside and outside the West Pass.”
Yan Duan rose to accept his orders.
Watching his brother walk slowly away, Yan Jun spoke in a low voice, “Father, there are real changes in him. To live again like this… maybe it’s true after all.”
He didn’t think the two—that his brother and the Guo girl—were putting on an act together.
Qin Jingzhou, half-smiling, threw the stack of confessions to his eldest son. “After the autumn harvest, lead your troops north of North River and give Guo Sida a little payback.”
Yan Jun stowed the statements away and flashed his dimples. “Yes, sir!”
After Yan Jun had bid farewell, the system finally spoke up. “Your eldest son’s temperament is impressive. His younger brother and sister-in-law both get reborn, and he doesn’t lose his composure at all.”
Qin Jingzhou was equally pleased with his eldest son’s response. “Whether I get to retire early in this world all depends on him. And, a kind-hearted male lead isn’t all bad—reborn or not, he won’t seize power or take revenge at all costs.”
“True enough,” the system mused. “Yan Duan isn’t exactly likable, but he’s not entirely hateful either… Oh, by the way, World Will sent me to tell you that Yan Duan’s rebirth was an accident—she really didn’t interfere.”
There was no need for World Will to lie, and Qin Jingzhou just smiled, “I believe her.” If World Will could control the Fate’s Son, why scramble every time Fate’s Son choked? “Anyway, when Fate’s Son fights back against destiny, they can at least throw a fit now and then.”
The system chuckled, “That’s right. But Yan Duan must have paid a considerable price to regain his memories from his past life.”
“Of course,” said Qin Jingzhou. “A chunk of his fate emptied out in an instant.”
Come to think of it, Yan Duan wasn’t the only Fate’s Son who could struggle against destiny.
Ling Jing had just finished preparing the half-year work plans and requirements for each steward, and was about to call a meeting when Guo Wanping came knocking at her door.
Guo Wanping was there to ask a fellow townsman for help.
Yan Duan’s rebirth was a major upheaval. She bowed, then launched right in. “He… caught me completely off guard! Honestly, apart from being lousy at teaching her son, the original host wasn’t so bad. To be objective, since I only know the plot and came without cheats, I haven’t done much better than she did…”
She suddenly trailed off, because her old friend was staring straight at her, making her hair stand on end.
Ling Jing pulled her gaze away and said firmly, “So you really don’t know… Actually, you are the original host. The original host is you.”
Guo Wanping’s jaw dropped, left utterly speechless for a moment.
After sending off the dazed Guo Wanping, Ling Jing and Qin Jingzhou exchanged private messages to compare notes. “Those two are pretty funny—one chooses to remember, and the other to forget.”
Qin Jingzhou replied, “A perfect match.”
Ling Jing paused, then burst out laughing. “Yes, indeed.”
Guo Wanping left Madam Min’s courtyard and stood outside for quite a while, letting the chill of early spring blow over her—spring winds were harsh and brought no warmth at all.
After sneezing and wiping her nose with a handkerchief, she finally remembered what she was supposed to do… and turned to seek out Yan Duan.
She rushed into Yan Duan’s study, and upon seeing her emotionless beloved, a wave of sourness overwhelmed her. But she only hesitated for a moment before going up and grabbing both his hands. “It’s because I failed to teach him properly!”
Yan Duan shook his head gently. “You can’t bear the blame alone. I suddenly realized that, in our past life, we both misjudged people—the very strategist who gained your full trust encouraged our son. He was unworthy, and our son was even more heartless and useless.”
Suddenly, “You are her, she is you” rang out in her mind again like a thunderclap, merging her sense of herself with that of the female lead from the plot. She remembered watching helplessly as her son killed his biological father, tasting the fruits of power and finally finishing her off for his peace of mind… Recalling how he pushed the poisoned wine before her, her heart twisted in agony. With tears streaming down her cheeks, Guo Wanping sobbed, “It was because I wanted support from my own family, so I let you trust him!”
Yan Duan patted her back. “The strategist from our past life had little time left, and as for our son… my own father never held my disgrace against me, so let’s not let our son out into the world.”
Guo Wanping choked out, “Alright.”
With that old friend as a cautionary tale, her “aloof onlooker” stance wholly crumbled. She sobbed in Yan Duan’s arms, gasping out the words, “To hell with our son! You’re the one that matters most to me.”
Yan Duan had become much clearer-headed, but he was still hopelessly in love, and even after weighing the gains and losses of his past life, he couldn’t ignore the fact that Wanping had never once betrayed him. So even though Wanping’s behavior during that half-day raised some doubts, he simply chose not to dwell on them.
Once she had cried herself out, Guo Wanping told Yan Duan: With those new memories in her head, she was at a loss. Then Madam Min questioned her, and in her anxiety she spilled everything…
In any case, she never sold out her old friend.
They hugged each other, sharing their regrets and affection, and decided with a shared smile to start anew—without children.
That evening, after a family meal, Yan Duan led Guo Wanping to kneel together in front of Qin Jingzhou and Ling Jing.
Qin Jingzhou smiled leisurely. “Made up so quickly?”
Even Ling Jing couldn’t help but laugh.
Yan Duan glanced at Wanping, who flushed from embarrassment. Then, turning back to his father, he confessed, “I want to marry her, but we don’t want children.”
Before Qin Jingzhou and Ling Jing could react, Yan Jun and Yan Yun, seated nearby, were stupefied. In this world, not having descendants was regarded as the greatest unfilial act, so to them, their younger brother’s words sounded like he was saying, “Since I’m already unfilial, a bit more won’t matter.” Both wanted to ask: “Little brother, how dare you?!”
Qin Jingzhou couldn’t help laughing. “Once bitten, twice shy, eh? Your life is yours to live, as you see fit.”
Even though Yan Duan had long predicted his father would be understanding, such a full and open approval still brought joy to his face. He kowtowed respectfully, thanked his father and hurried off with Guo Wanping.
Yan Jun and Yan Yun were left thoroughly puzzled. However, neither wanted to be the one to stick their neck out and ask what their father made of it.
Even so, their questions were plain on their faces.
Qin Jingzhou did not want to explain that their younger brother and sister-in-law were recovering from trauma. All he said was, “Let your mother teach you these things.”
Ling Jing smiled. “Which is more important—your living brother, or some hypothetical nephew or niece who hasn’t even been conceived?”
Yan Jun and Yan Yun pondered this.
After his open self-examination, Yan Duan felt much lighter. While recuperating, he racked his brains for a list of people who in his past life leaned towards the Guo family or harmed him in court.
Soon, he and Guo Wanping drew up a new list together.
It turned out to be of great use. Yan Jun used it to root out several fence-sitters and not-yet-activated traitors in their family and the Border Army, all of whom had been corrupted by the Guo family.
So spring and summer passed, and the Guo family’s power in West Pass, built up over many years, was uprooted almost entirely.
Meanwhile, Guo Sida, thanks to an “old injury,” had become irritable and prone to strange outbursts in court, although he managed to keep his wits about him for at least half the time.
He was no match for Yan Jingzhou, but he could certainly still cause trouble for him. As it happened, the King Jianguo of Jin was in the Capital at that very time… King Jianguo had come specifically to discuss strategies for defeating Yan Jingzhou.
So Guo Sida issued an Imperial Decree: Yan Jingzhou was to send his daughter to seal an arranged marriage.